This invention pertains to a system for the management and routing of fiber optic cables, and more particularly to a coupling for joining various types of troughs which carry fiber optic cables.
In the telecommunications industry there are numerous locations where a significant amount of fiber optic cable must be routed within a facility or from one facility to another. The routing within a facility may be from one piece of equipment to another, or from outside lines coming into a central office and to fiber optic connectors where they are connected to equipment within the facility.
The number of fibers may be great and the fibers must all be handled with great care to avoid damage to the fiber cable, which hinders its performance.
In a typical facility, fiber optic troughs are normally used to carry or route the fiber optic cables. Although not necessarily, in most facilities the troughs are located overhead and over the location of the fiber optic distribution frames, bays and equipment.
In certain types of facilities, a significant trough network is needed to contain and route the fiber cables. The installation time and expense can be substantial for said trough systems. The installation time and expense is further increased when the troughs, trough supports and junctions are not readily adaptable to the configuration desired in the facility and when the troughs, couplings, junctions, downfalls and other equipment do not readily or easily assemble, or when tools such as screwdrivers are required for installation. The typical prior art system requires numerous screws to secure the covers and other components together.
The design, layout and assembly of these trough systems are further complicated because of the unique nature of fiber cables and how the fiber cable must be placed, routed and managed. In the management of fiber optic cables, it is important to maintain a minimum bend radius to protect the fiber optic cables. One typical standard minimum bend radius is one and one-half inches, while another standard minimum bend radius is thirty millimeters (30 mm).
It is also desirable to minimize the number and size of bumps, cracks, holes and other deviations from a smooth surface to which the fibers are exposed, or on which the fibers are supported.
For many years there has been an unsatisfied need to reduce the assembly time and/or expense by providing a trough system which minimizes or eliminates the need for the use of screws and other time consuming fasteners and holders, while still providing a trough system which protects the integrity of the fiber cables.
In the typical prior art system numerous screws are utilized to attach the various components to one another. While such screw based systems are easier to design, they burden the facility owner with the unnecessarily high expense of assembly with screws for example, and with attempting to make the system fit the particular facility.
This invention provides a new trough system which reduces the assembly and installation time and expense. In one embodiment, the preferred embodiment, screws are eliminated altogether and components may easily and expeditiously be assembled without the use of tools.
Couplings for use in fiber optic cable trough applications must also be able to withstand heavy weight in applications where a significant amount of fiber optic cable is supported thereby. This combined with the delicate nature of the fiber optic cable make it a relatively unique trough application.